Fractured Fences

In the opening part of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5), our Lord deals with the matter of fractured relationships. In fact He lists six examples where the oral law the religious leaders taught was in direct conflict with what the OT written law taught. Each of these cases is introduced with the statement "Ye have heard that it hath been said (what the oral laws passed down through the generations said) ...but I say unto you (this is what God said in His written law)."

Fractured relationships are a common observance in life; yet they are not to be part of a Christian's life--one who is a citizen of God's kingdom! In fact he must constant beware of falling into the same trap the Jewish leaders of Jesus' day did: their righteousness consisted in doing good things externally (strictly obeying the 10 commandments) while all the while disobeying those same commandments internally. They were happy to ignore and dismiss their heart condition before God that led to the violation of those commandments and thought their good works would certainly atone for or cover up the matters of the heart with which God said He had forbidden.

This mindset was clearly seen in the way they conducted their relationships with people. Our Lord made some shocking statements that challenged their thinking and pointed out their error. For example, here's one: reconciling a fractured relationship with someone is more important to God than worshiping Him. Do you agree with this statement? Listen to what our Lord taught in today's Scripture passage.

This message is part 1 of 3 in this series in which our pastor shows a fourth practical way we can "Put First Things First" (Matt. 6:33)--in our relationships.

Using the Right Measuring Stick?

There are those who measure themselves by their own estimation of themselves and think they are worthy of Heaven. Others measure themselves by their religious accomplishments while others express great confidence in their rituals, race, religion or their own sense of righteousness or goodness. When it comes to measuring whether or not we qualify for Heaven, we must ask ourselves, "Are we using the right measuring stick?"

In this next message which is part 27 in a series of verse-by-verse studies from the book of Philippians, we look at a text of Scripture in which the Apostle Paul addresses the matter of various appeals made to God for a right standing with Him and declares the only right basis for any appeal for an eternal acceptance with God and entrance into Heaven.

Dealing with the Danger of Drifting - Part 1

In Philippians 3, Paul addresses the second and third dangers confronting the church at Philippi. He gives two simple umbrella-like statements that provide guidance regarding how to deal with these very real threats. In this message Pastor Mike begins to deals with the second danger - the danger of drifting away from the purity of the Gospel. The Judaizers of Paul's day were relentless in their attempts to move the young converts to Christ from the simplicity of faith alone in the finished work of Christ alone for their righteous standing before God. They also sought to turn the believers against Paul personally. Today, many churches and religious groups deny Christ's gospel of free grace by teaching and depending upon a works-righteousness system or a faith + works = righteousness type of system in order to gain a right standing with God. Paul strongly condemned both of these avenues. Though today circumcision is not the ritual being pushed, other rituals have been substituted for it such as baptism (to name one of other examples) and examples of these proponents are given to warn modern day born-again believers of this ancient heresy dressed in more modern garb.